There's a Headcanon for That

I have too many headcanons for too many fandoms to keep them all in my head, so this is the place for them to leak out when I need to make room for more.

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

“You Are Free” - The Kids of TDP

Warning: LONG POST AHEAD

I’ve seen some posts going around in the TDP fandom about how the children rulers of the human kingdoms, especially Aanya, are running their kingdom poorly, or will run their kingdom poorly in Ezran’s case. The biggest argument I’ve seen about this is addresses how Aanya handled Viren’s request to join him and the other rulers in combining her forces with his to fight the Xadians. Now, I get why her decision not to send soldiers into battle might strike a lot of people as a poor decision. Strategically speaking in a real war, it would be. But I think some people are forgetting that 

A: TDP is primarily a kids’ show and that real war and the choices people would make during such times has no standing here, and 

B: the point of the show is to illustrate to the primary audience (kids) how sometimes the right choice is not fighting, but listening, and understanding, because what you may have been taught about a place and its people may not be entirely true, or fair. (An especially important lesson for our youngsters given the current state of the world.)

We see during Viren’s proposal to the other kings and queens of the human kingdoms the backstory as to how Queen Sarai and Aanya’s parents, the Queens of Duren, gave their lives in order to ensure the survival of others. I’ve seen people going after Aanya’s decision to not fight as childish and selfish, but consider this: Yes, thousands of lives were saved by her parents crossing into Xadia and killing the Magma Titan. But how many thousands of lives would be lost if she sent soldiers to fight Xadians? Xadians who, probably, are just defending their territory? Let’s not forget that Xadians have a reason to defend the border and keep humans from crossing into their land. They’ve experienced the fear of realizing that all it takes is one dark mage to suck the life and magical force out of them, and that all they are to some humans is a power source. Imagine if the situation were reversed and you had Xadians trying to get across the border to steal the hearts and body parts of humans to perform spells? Wouldn’t you want to keep them out at all costs? 

And I think that’s the point. Or at least one of the points of the show. There is a huge bias between Xadians and the human kingdoms. The human kingdoms, specifically the ones run by adults, portray residents of Xadia as monsters. Amaya even uses the word “monster” when referring to Rayla. Harrow is not completely without fault either in this aspect, given how readily he went along with Viren’s plan to cross the border into Xadia to seek the heart of the Magma Titan. Viren especially has instilled this belief into many people; his own children included. Xadians are bloodthirsty, heartless monsters, and are only good when used for dark magic. Neither side is innocent, not when it comes to the adults. Even Runaan, clearly an adult by Xadian standards, is shown as being limited by his prejudice and his conviction that there is no other way than the one he–as the experienced leader–has chosen. But the kids are a different story.

The children in TDP represent the dawn of a new era. An era where they have not yet been completely embittered towards Xadia. Aanya refuses to pursue war at the expense of yet more lives, because in spite of losing her parents to the Dragon King, she herself has not truly experienced any reason to loathe Xadians outright. Aanya is a child with the responsibilities of an adult, but she has the ability to see beyond what adults can or will. 

Ezran and Callum have every reason to hate Xadians. Xadians essentially robbed the boys of their mother. In Ezran’s case this is especially hard because it happened before he ever really got to know her. Ezran also does everything to help the very creature that his people would insist on him believing is his greatest enemy, the son of the very being who killed his mother. But he protects Zym, encourages him, and helps him learn to fly. Ezran clearly sees the good in creatures that others instinctively recoil from (i.e. Claudia and the Banther incident) and does what he can to help and understand them.

Callum represents the truth that magic–Primal magic–CAN be done through hard work, understanding, and a willingness to be open minded to something you might not immediately understand. Claudia offers him the alternative of Dark Magic when he admits to wanting to be able to do it again, be he declines, stating that he wants to do “real” magic. Magic that doesn’t require the taking of a life, or inflicting harm on another living being in order to make it work. Let’s also not forget the words that Harrow says to Callum, both while he’s still alive, and in Callum’s fever dream: 

“The great illusion of childhood is that adults have all the power and freedom, but the truth is the opposite, the child is freer than a king.”

“You are free. You are free from the past and the future.” 

Harrow was limited by his own prejudice and his anger towards Xadia, both before and especially after his wife’s death. He made decisions that may not have been the best, but as he faces his imminent death it’s clear he’s starting to realize that, and wishes to do his best to ensure that his sons don’t follow his example and make the same mistakes.

The last instance I can think of for how children have a very different approach to Xadians and the entire human vs elf/dragon war, at least on the human side of things, is Ellis. Ellis is a child who, upon seeing Rayla and meeting Lujanne, smiles and offers help instead of instantly condemning them for being elves. Unlike the man with the Sunforge dagger Rayla briefly interacts with. The man clearly witnesses that Rayla has no intention of hurting him or stealing from him, but still gathers a mob to chase her and the boys out of town. Ellis, on the other hand, takes no time in accepting Rayla and Lujanne as friends. It’s clear that she has no issue with them. Why would she? Her only encounters with Xadians have been entirely positive ones. 

Now to the Xadian side of things. At the moment, we only have two Xadian youngsters on the team, but I’d be surprised if it stays that way for very long. 

Rayla shows that she is young enough to make mistakes but also willing to have the benefit of the doubt and be merciful and forgive. In the first few episodes, we see that’s not immediately the case, as she does her best to prove to Runaan–an adult she clearly loves and respects–that she can do what is expected of her as a Moonshadow assassin. She chases down Callum and Ezran, entirely intent on her mission, until she realizes that everything she thought to be true–everything that adults in Xadia had taught her to believe–was wrong. She doesn’t even hesitate to accept that things are different when sees the egg. Her only goal then is to get the egg safely to Xadia, because in the end that’s all that matters. It does take her a little while to open up to Ezran and Callum, but the important thing is that she does, and forms very clear attachments to both of them. 

Then we have the Dragon Prince himself. Zym is a young dragon who has no reason to dislike humans because most of the humans he’s met have done their best to understand and help him. He is free from the bias of his people because he doesn’t even know who his people are yet. Even when he’s faced with humans who do wish to harm him (Claudia and Soren) we see that it doesn’t change his impression of Callum or Ezran. To him, there are good beings, and not so good beings. Human or Xadian makes no difference. 

Now, stepping back from the kids, let’s take a look at one more adult who very clearly draws the line between good and bad, but not the way we might like. 

From the word “go” Viren dismisses any and all children (even his own) as lesser. When Callum runs up to King Harrow right before the assassination attempt, Viren steps out of the room and tells him “You shouldn’t be here”, then proceeds to take his voice and call him an “impudent little mongrel”. When Viren is faced with Queen Aanya, he is clearly exasperated and asks several times when her escort will be joining them. When she gives her final answer to him at the end of his tale and plea, he rages “This is why we need an adult!” Before that, when he tells Soren he wishes for him to assassinate the Princes, he explains to Soren that Katolis cannot have a child king because he will make “weak decisions”. Viren continually tries throughout the series to express how children are the limited ones, but he is limited by his prejudice and self-importance as an adult. 

And between the adults and the children, we have some interesting in-betweens. Prime example: Soren and Claudia. They’re older, but they’re not adults. They make poor decisions, but also redeem themselves with better decisions and trying to recognize their mistakes. They are the characters caught between whether to do the truly right thing, or whether to do what is expected and perceived as “the right thing” as nearly grown up individuals brought up on their fathers’ flawed teachings. I think Corvus could also technically fall into this category, given he originally went after Rayla on Amaya’s orders, but stopped when he realized he didn’t have quite the whole story.

But basically the point I’m trying to make is that this show is supposed to be about how kids can make a difference in a world where adults are so set in how things are or should be that they can’t or refuse to see how things could be. It’s about how children sometimes make better decisions because they’re not chained down by the responsibilities, or prejudices, of adults. 

This will make for an interesting dynamic once Ezran takes the throne, because he is assuming an adult’s responsibility but still harbors the heart and mind of a child who sees nothing wrong with Xadia or its people–something Viren will probably use to his advantage, assuming he gets out of prison.

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

It’s 1AM. Time to give my opinion that no one asked for...

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger would never have made it to being married. Or, if they did (as they were in the epilogue), they would have divorced in less than two years.

Ron, for all his loyalty and pride as a Gryffindor, is an entitled chauvinist. 

He's a skirt chaser and a layabout who would not have managed well in a work environment outside of Hogwarts. He barely did well IN Hogwarts without excessive amounts of help from Hermione. He was possessive of her attention and resentful when she expressed interest in literally ONE dude, but was perfectly ready to go chasing after Fleur, Lavender, and even Madam Rosmerta. 

He even admits he'd sooner go to the Yule Ball with a pretty bitch than a nice girl with an off-center nose. He completely ignores Hermione as a candidate for attention as a woman until he is left with literally no other options, then expects her to accommodate him and immediately accuses her of lying when she says she’s already going with someone else.

He bullies her, and is constantly putting down her or any other girl that happens to come across his radar. Let’s not forget his comment in Half-Blood Prince regarding Tonks “cracking up” when Harry mentions that she seems a little off: “Women...they’re easily upset.” And immediately afterwards we’re informed that he sulked for half an hour because yet another woman didn’t laugh his joke. Not to mention all the hell he gives Ginny in Half-Blood Prince when he catches her kissing Dean in a private corridor. 

He legitimately almost gets into a duel with her because he just about admits he doesn’t want people thinking she’s a slut just for making out with someone and she wasn’t about to take his bullshit and called him on it. Does he actually say the word ‘slut’? No. It is it implied? YES. Oh, and then there was the part when she started dating Harry and Ron warns them to be careful or he could take away his “permission” for them to be dating. (I know this was said more jokingly, but still.)

Pairing someone as unmotivated and entitled as Ron with someone as hardworking and discriminated against as Hermione might seem like a good way to play with the notion of “opposites attract” but realistically their relationship would have fallen apart so fast it’s laughable. Ron wouldn’t be able to stand having a career minded woman like Hermione as his wife. He’d expect someone to be home to cook, and clean, and do all the things his mother did for him while he was growing up (he basically did this during the majority of The Deathly Hallows). 

On the flip side, Hermione would have gotten so impatient with Ron’s continued laziness that they’d probably spend more time arguing than anything else. It’s all they ever did in the books, when they weren’t sharing the rare moment of actually getting along. 

Now, I’m not going to say I’d pair her off with Harry. Because I wouldn’t. She and Harry just weren’t meant to be a couple, but I think JK was working too hard to please the expectation of Ron and Hermione getting together at the end of the series to really consider how godawful their relationship actually was. 

If I had to pick a character for Hermione to end up with, who appreciated her and would have respected her motivations and her desires, it would have been Viktor Krum. It should have been Viktor Krum. He liked her. He might have even loved her. He definitely respected her, and he made her feel good about herself. He complimented her without hesitation, and when he thought she and Ron were in a relationship in the seventh book he didn’t sneer or make nasty comments (like Ron did about him). He merely comments to Harry, “Ah, they are together now?” and that’s it. 

Oh, and remember back in the 4th book when all those rumors were flying around about Harry and Hermione during the Triwizard Tournament, instead of acting like a petulant boy Viktor calmly and politely asks Harry for a private word and addresses the issue with him without getting sulky or possessive? Remember that? I do.

I honestly think Hermione has some sort of inferiority complex. Think of all the times that she stresses needlessly over how she’s going to fail her tests, or her classes, or literally anything that she does. She’s constantly doubting herself even when she has no valid reason to. She needs reassurance that she’s doing well, and she’s easily swayed into doubting herself when she doesn’t get that reassurance. Part of it probably stems from being a muggleborn in a wizard society, and the stigma that comes from that, but I think part of it is also just who she always has been. She doesn’t believe she’s going to do well, and even when she does she reflects on all the things she’s done wrong. And Ron doesn’t hesitate to point out her mistakes when she makes them, especially when they’re younger. And maybe she believes it. Maybe she believes that she’s not that good, and doesn’t actually amount to as much as she believes, and in her mind Ron keeps her “grounded”. I don’t know. It’s late and my brain doesn’t want to flush out the details on this aspect coherently. 

But basically, TL;DR: 

Ron didn’t deserve Hermione. He was a bully and a chauvinist. He spent too much time hurting Hermione to ever be a good, healthy match for her. Hermione Granger deserved better than Ronald Weasley could ever give her. 

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

Viren’s Tale/Sarai’s Death

I’m sure this theory has been discussed somewhere but here we go anyway:

Let’s be honest. Viren knew he was needed to complete the spell using the titan’s heart. He knew he was a valuable asset and the people of Katolis and Duren would be relying on him to save them. He knew that no one was going to let him die. He also, up until the moment he claims to have chosen to go help the Queens of Duren, never shows any compassion or consideration to anyone. 

He was more than willing to let 100,000 citizens from an allied kingdom perish rather than share both their food and their suffering. He wanted to leave the wounded behind to ensure a clean getaway, and snapped at Harrow when the king ordered that they slow their pace to make sure everyone could make it back safely. 

“You wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t your wife’s sister!” 

Did he have a reason? Probably. But the fact that all of a sudden as they’re facing down Thunder he has a sudden “I can help!” moment, where for the rest of the time he’s been ready to drop everyone else and run, is so completely out of character for him it’s almost laughable. But since he’s the one telling the story to Aanya to try and win her allegiance for a war, it would make sense that he’d spin things a little differently. 

Let’s also remember what he said--in tones of resentment--near the beginning of the story: “At the time, I was not the king’s closest advisor.”

Sarai was. Sarai wanted Harrow to change his mind about the voyage to Xadia to kill the magma titan, even if it meant saving people, because to her it was still taking life. It was a shortcut. Dark magic--Viren’s magic--was a shortcut. 

Viren had every reason to resent Sarai. She stood between him and Harrow and had way more weight behind her influence than Viren did at the time. And Viren knew it. He also probably suspected that if the Queens of Duren died retrieving the titan’s heart that Sarai would forever use that as an excuse to sway Harrow from further escapades into Xadia, claiming it would only lead to more suffering on the part of their people than if they left well enough alone. 

But if Sarai died, she wouldn’t be there to say those things. She also wouldn’t be there to persuade Harrow not to seek revenge on the Dragon King for his wife’s death. She wouldn’t be there to prevent Viren from using Dark Magic to kill the Dragon King, or use the ensuing chaos to steal the egg of the Dragon Prince. We clearly see that Harrow had no clue that Viren still had the egg--he shouts at Viren in season 1 for destroying the egg and starting an “unwinnable war”. Viren kept that a secret from his own king. What other secrets was he keeping? 

Maybe--just maybe--that the Dragon King wasn’t actually responsible for Sarai’s death? At least not in whole. 

TL;DR

Viren orchestrated the death of Queen Sarai to ensure that he would have Harrow’s ear in all things regarding Xadia because he wanted to make sure he had access to powerful magical creatures/artifacts to use in his dark magic (i.e. the egg of the Dragon Prince).

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

Aaravos/Dark Magic Theory

So, I see a lot of posts about how Aaravos helped humans discover Dark Magic, and how he was placed in the mirror as punishment by the Xadians as retribution for allowing the humans to develop such a dark, dangerous form of magic for their own. 

BUT

I have a few ideas (that could be totally wrong) but I want to throw them out there anyway. For funsies. And maybe someone has done this already and I just haven’t seen it in the tags but, hey, it’s fun. And long.

So here’s my theory:

Dark magic was used to create the mirror Aaravos is trapped in. Dark magic was also used to actually trap him in the first place. As the master of the Six Primal Sources, if anything but dark magic was used, it stands to reason that he should be able to undo it. But as a Xadian, and as the Archmage of the original sources of magic, what the hell would he need to use dark magic for? Chances are good he doesn’t even know how to use Dark Magic. But even without Dark Magic, human mages knew they would need something especially powerful and magical to hold him. 

Let’s operate with the idea that Aaravos was sealed into the mirror around 1000 years ago (that seems to be the most popular theory for how long he’s been trapped). That would pretty much fall right within the timeline of when humans first discovered Dark Magic. Humans knew how powerful Aaravos was, and potentially wanted to prevent him from stopping them using Dark Magic. He was probably the only one who could, considering Dark Magic simply sucks out the magical force in most other Xadians, effectively killing them. And he’s clearly seen standing with the elves against the humans at the start of the Dark Magic ruckus. 

But more than just a prison, the humans wanted to have a way to tap into pure, magical power to use for Dark Magic, since they probably knew they were going to be going to war with Xadia over the entire ordeal and would need a way to keep their own magic flowing. Runaan looks at the mirror when Viren shows it to him and say it’s something “worse than death”. Some people think he means Aaravos. But what if he literally just means the mirror? The mirror, which is more than a prison. 

Dark magic siphons the energy within magical creatures. We see that Aaravos can use magic from within the mirror and channel it into Viren. If he could use Primal Magic from inside the mirror, what good would it have done the Xadians to imprison him in it in the first place? But what if humans, on the other hand, deliberately set the mirror up to be able to draw his magic from him and into themselves, except rather than when Viren did it and Aaravos voluntarily helped him, they forcibly sucked the magic out? As the Master of all six Primal Sources, he would have been an excellent magical battery for their Dark Magic.

Also, Rayla explains that Xadians have a connection to a Primal Source that almost equates to a connection of the soul. Now imagine Runaan looking at this mirror, this magical siphon, and knowing what that really does to a magical being. Of course he would think something like that was worse than death. 

And as for why the Dragon King and Queen kept the mirror so close to them, what if it wasn’t to keep Xadians safe from Aaravos? What if was to keep Aaravos safe from humans?

Let’s say humans created the mirror and trapped Aaravos around 1000 years ago. The Dragon King gets wind of what’s happened to the archmage and goes to retrieve the mirror from human mages. He keeps the mirror in his lair under close guard to ensure it doesn’t get stolen again, or damaged, so humans can’t use Aaravos and his magic again, or prevent him from being released. But since the mirror was made using Dark Magic, the Dragon King has no idea how to free Aaravos himself. Nor does anyone else in Xadia. 

Humans lose track of the mirror and eventually forget about it as the war against Xadia rages on and new problems come to their attention. In the current time, Viren finds the mirror after the death of the Dragon King (<10 years ago) and has no idea what it is, so he doesn’t know it works as a magical siphon. Remember when Runaan told Viren he would never help him learn what the mirror was? What if he meant he’d never help Viren figure out how to turn it into a magical power bank again? 

Also, Aaravos clearly suspects when he first meets Viren that Viren has no clue what the mirror is. And he’s not about to let him find out. So when Viren goes running off to check Aaravos’s name and history, he wipes the information before Viren can read it. He’s not about to risk going through the same hell he experienced from previous dark mages. But he also knows he needs a dark mage to get him out of the mirror. Dark Magic got him in, and Dark Magic--he has probably figured--is the only thing that will get him out. He needs to earn Viren’s trust, or at least get Viren to stop trusting other humans to the point that Viren needs him as much as he needs Viren.

Hence why Aaravos willingly cooperated with Viren, at least at first glance, to give him what he wants. But he still wants someone to pay for what’s been done to him. By having Viren attack the guards, and even kill a few, Aaravos makes it so that humans will never trust a dark mage again. Two birds with one stone. Aaravos has Viren ostracized, then convinces him to free him from the mirror, but also makes it so that humans may never ever use dark magic again because they realize how dangerous it can be against their own people. But he stops short of having Viren killed. For all he knows, Viren is the only dark mage able to get him out of the mirror (assuming he didn’t see Claudia trying to use magic on the mirror in Season 1), which is also the reason he orders Viren so forcefully to stop when it looks like the mage might get himself killed trying to escape.  

Also, Viren has no clue who Aaravos is. But King Harrow did. How does a dark mage not know about the Archmage of the Six Primal Sources? But the King of Katolis, a king who eventually comes to resent Dark Magic for everything it has cost him, does? And also, why does Harrow speak almost reverently of Aaravos? You’d think if Dark Magic had been Aaravos’s contribution to humanity, it would be the human mages who remembered him and spoke highly of him, rather than a King of Katolis who has little to no love left for dark magic. 

I seriously think Queen Sarai had something to do with Harrow knowing about Aaravos. She was super outspoken against Dark Magic, and had a very humane approach to how she viewed Xadia and its occupants, at least to a point. After all, she did ask Harrow if that magma monster was intelligent or had a family. She wasn’t ready to call something a monster just based off of a first opinion or ancient prejudice.

TL;DR:

Dark mages made the mirror and imprisoned Aaravos to protect themselves and their magic. The mirror acts as a magical power supply using Aaravos as the charger. The Dragon King was keeping the mirror safe to prevent humans using it. Aaravos is playing Viren like a fiddle to get out of the mirror and turn humans against Dark Magic because he’s fed up with their BS.

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

Don’t mind me...just ranting about Batman...

Why do people prefer the Batman timeline where Barbara Gordon ends up shot, sexually assaulted, paralyzed and becoming the Oracle instead of the one where she grows up fine and becomes Commissioner of Gotham after her father?

Why do people prefer the Batman timeline where Batman loses his cool and kills the Joker in a rage instead of the one where Joker reaps what he sows by being shot dead by the same child he tortured into insanity?

Why do people prefer the Batman timeline where Batman finds out that he has a son that was the product of drugging and rape by Talia Al Ghul? But not the one where a wayward government agent went so far as to try and completely duplicate Batman from the ground up, even going so far as being willing to resort to the murder of two innocent people to do so? 

Basically, why do people prefer any timeline for Batman that doesn’t include Batman Beyond? Because Batman Beyond was the shit, and it didn’t require the raping of or sexual assault of protagonists or causing protagonists to go completely batshit crazy (no pun intended) and start killing people (looking at you, Jason Todd).

(Not to mention, seeing an aged, cane-wielding Harley Quinn lecturing her granddaughters at the end of Return of the Joker is the best thing to ever come out of DC Animation and no one can tell me otherwise.)

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

Things That Keep Me Up At Night...

Why wasn't Amos Diggory the one charging alongside Horace Slughorn towards the Final Battle of Hogwarts, ready to fight to protect the students so their parents didn't have to know the pain of losing a child?

Why wasn't Augusta Longbottom the one to duel and kill Bellatrix for what had been done to her son and her daughter-in-law?

Why do people seem to forget that Minerva McGonnagol essentially ordered all of the Slytherins out of the Great Hall right before the final battle?

Why doesn't it get talked about more that some Slytherins probably came back to fight, or hid among their friends at other house tables during the evacuation because they wanted to fight, too?

Why don't more people talk about the fact that Regulus Black was still a teenager when he figured out how to finish Voldemort, and died trying to make sure it happened? Or that he didn't do it for the sake of a girl he still lusted after?

Why don't we talk about how there had to be Muggleborn Slytherins who struggled to accept and be proud of their house even when their own house wouldn't accept them?

How come it seems like people forget that some Slytherins were probably just as badly bullied as other people were, and that some Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors were probably just as horrible bullies as Malfoy, Snape, or any of the other featured Slytherins were?

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

Ace

This is outside of my realm of usual headcanons but I was reliving my childhood through Batman: Beyond, and noticed something I hadn’t before.

So elderly Bruce Wayne has a dog named Ace. Now kid me just thought he picked Ace because it sounded cool for a dog, but then I remembered…

So my heart still hurts and I’m not over this theory and I love Batman/Bruce Wayne so much and I need to go cry for a second.

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

“Jenova” Electric Power Company

Jenova wanted to destroy the planet, or to at least infect it to use as a surrogate “body” to traverse the cosmos with, but was defeated the first time around because the Planet and its defenders (the Ancients/Cetra) were too strong. 

Centuries later, Shinra unearthed Jenova’s body and began experiments with her cells. 

Shinra began to siphon the Lifestream from the Planet for energy, supposedly weakening the planet in the process, and Hojo began injecting Shinra’s SOLDIER units with Jenova’s cells to supposedly increase their strength.

Consider that a parasite that wants to destroy a human body starts by infecting smaller cells, then using those smaller cells to infect larger and larger parts until it overwhelms the entire body. Sephiroth and other SOLDIER like him were the smaller cells. Jenova used him and attempted to use other SOLDIER to infect the Planet's "body" and overwhelm the Cetra, which served as the Planet's "antibodies". 

(Also consider that the last remaining Cetra on the planet were nearly wiped out because of Hojo and Shinra. Ifalna and Aerith were abducted and imprisoned, and Ifalna died during their escape, leaving Aerith the sole protector of the Planet until her death.)

Jenova used Shinra to weaken the planet and create her own defenders to combat the Cetra. Shinra was not using Jenova. Jenova was using Shinra.

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

Not So Beastly

Headcanon that, in spite of Ciel's constant statements to the contrary, demons are actually less beastly and disorganized and chaotic than humans. Sebastian is constantly thinking over how amusing it is to him that Ciel says how, "Beastly" Sebastian is or for Sebastian to "Go wild like the beast you are". He also thinks over how humans are constantly stepping on and over each other in a mad scramble to get what they want, even after death--as is illustrated in the Campania arc when the Bizarre Dolls are fighting each other to get to Ciel after the ship has sunken. His way of thinking suggests that demons probably do not act like this, in spite of how humans seem to perceive them. This would suggest that demons see no merit in bickering among themselves or losing themselves to their instincts and go wild on each other, if at all. Which, given the indefinite length of their lives, would make sense. Why fight over food/souls or anything else when there is plenty to go around over the passing centuries? This would also play a bit into religious mythology regarding demons and fallen angels, and their views on humans as less than themselves. If demons consider humans base creatures who only bicker among themselves and fight for their own personal gain, naturally they would consider them little more useful than as a food source, or as a temporary source of entertainment to distract from the monotony of immortality, as Sebastian views Ciel.

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

Return of a “Loved One”

So, having been keeping up with the latest update/chapter to Black Butler, and seeing that Ciel (I will be calling him Ciel regardless of who he "actually" is) did indeed have a twin at birth, I have developed a new theory of how things might progress from here. Or, at least, how they might be connected.

First things first, Undertaker.

We know he’s been working on Bizarre Dolls. We know he’s proven that he can, in fact, resurrect the dead, and even though there’s been no sign of him in this arc yet--except for the brief snippet in an earlier chapter--that’s not to say he won’t show up at some point. Especially considering his previous connections to the P4, who are prominent in this arc. 

Also consider in previous chapters in the Green Witch Arc where Undertaker is seen weeping over a picture of Vincent.

Now, at first I thought he was talking about Vincent, and part of me is still partially convinced of this, except for a couple of things: 

-Normal fire doesn’t have enough heat to completely demolish bones.

-Ciel’s twin died in a fire that was caused by a demon, which could most certainly have caused his ashes to turn to ashes.

Also, if we are to agree that Ciel’s twin is indeed the true Earl Phantomhive, than Undertaker’s words “The Earl of Phantomhive is still with us”, we might be able to consider that his words about “burning to ashes” was in reference to the twin, and not Vincent. In which case, there would be some interesting implications into the reappearance of Ciel’s twin.

For starters, we know Undertaker wants to resurrect the dead. But why? 

And if Ciel’s twin did die that night--which we can only assume because of Sebastian’s words “the toll has already been paid”--then the potential for the revived twin to be a Bizarre Doll makes a little more sense. 

But what about the cut across the forehead on the other Bizarre Dolls? 

Here’s another question to consider: Why would Undertaker need to cut open their heads to attach filler memories to their Cinematic Record? That makes no sense to me. Perhaps it wasn’t necessary at all and was just another experiment of Undertaker’s. Or perhaps he has perfected his dolls to the point it is no longer necessary to cut their skulls open. 

(Also, if Undertaker has been working to perfect his Bizarre Dolls, that might explain where Bravat comes in with his blood collection. We know that Ciel is a “Sirius”. Perhaps his twin is as well, and Bravat somehow has connections to Undertaker through the P4, and together they found that in order to create a better body for a living corpse, the same blood type was necessary. But this is one of my wilder theories that hasn’t fully come to completion yet.)

However, I think it’s safe to say that somehow, Bravat, Undertaker, and the Bizarre Dolls are somehow connected to this. 

Undertaker knows how to revive the dead--to a point. He has connections to the Phantomhive family, has wept over Vincent, and has ties to Claudia Phantomhive--Vincent’s mother and Ciel’s grandmother. He has been glimpsed in the opening of one chapter, with who we can only assume is the twin Ciel. The twin asks him if it is time to wake up, but Undertaker tells him he has to sleep a little longer. Instead of that being literal in the sense of sleeping and waking, perhaps it was meant more along the lines of a revival of a dead corpse. 

And aside from Undertaker’s potential connections to all of this, what about the other three “Stars”? Who are they? What is their purpose?

What about the knife-wielding accomplice who killed Agni and attempted to get to Soma? Who was it? And what was the purpose in trying to kill Soma in the first place? Sheer spite? I don’t think so. There was some real effort put into trying to get to Soma. Agni had at least half a dozen knives driven into his back. Whoever was with the shooter (we assume the twin Ciel) was determined to get to Soma. 

There are lots of interesting potential connections here, and I think the story’s biggest twist is yet to come. People in the fandom predicted a twin, but I don’t think that’s the biggest trick up Yana’s sleeve. There’s a bigger end game in store, and I only think it can end with the twin’s (second) death, or the reveal of a plot to completely ruin Ciel. I’m also interested to see how Tanaka plays into all of this, now that he has revealed that he was fully aware of the twins. 

Also, is the Blue Star referring to the twin Ciel? Or to Vincent? We know that Vincent’s time at school caused him to be known as the man who brought the Blue Miracle about. But Ciel (neither of them) have ever been associated with Blue anything except for the brief time spent at Weston.

All in all, I’m fascinated to see how this will all end, and who is connected to what and why. There are far too many open ends going on for things to be as simple as a revived twin (though that’s hardly simple in itself) and a blood collecting lunatic. Also, what does Victoria have to say about this? I find it hard to believe she won’t somehow get sucked into this one way or another. Plus, I’m still interested to see what is up with her Butler, as I’m still thoroughly convinced he is not entirely human. (Anyone in this series who wears something to cover their eyes is always highly suspect to me. Lesson learned from Undertaker.)

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

The Sight

Headcanon that the Weasley’s have some seer blood in them, whether they know it or not. 

Case in point, Ron during second year in regards to Tom Riddle’s award for Special Services to School: 

“Maybe he murdered Myrtle. That would’ve done everyone a favor.”

Whoops. Looks like that wasn’t far off the mark at all. 

Secondly, Fred and George during the Quidditch World Cup:

“We bet 37 galleons, 15 sickles, and 3 knuts...that Ireland wins, but Krum will get the Snitch.”

Well, what do you know? I mean, really, what are the chances of that actually happening? 

(I know there has been some discussion of the twins possessing Time Turners but that just seems a little uncharacteristic for them...)

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

Sisterly Love

Headcanon that after the Battle of Hogwarts, Narcissa went to visit her sister Andromeda with Draco--though Lucius resolutely stayed behind at Malfoy Manor--after hearing that Andromeda had lost both her child and her husband to the Death Eaters; the very thing that Narcissa had been dreading herself with Lucius and Draco.

Narcissa arrives to find Andromeda tending to baby Teddy Lupin, assisted by Molly Weasley. After several tense minutes, everything finally thaws out when Teddy crawls over to Narcissa and promptly falls asleep in her lap, his hair turning from bright, bubblegum pink to striking, white-blond. Narcissa and Andromeda tearfully make up--not once discussing Bellatrix--and Narcissa eventually convinces Draco to hold Teddy after the toddler wakes up.

Narcissa also apologizes to Molly later that evening while they are in the kitchen together making dinner for everything that her husband has ever said about their family. Molly graciously accepts the apology, and Narcissa also apologizes for the death of Fred Weasley, admitting that she can’t imagine what it would be like to lose a son. After more tears and a few slightly awkward hugs, they serve dinner and have a rather pleasant evening together with Andromeda. Draco finally seems less uneasy when Molly smiles kindly at him and offers him extra servings of treacle while he sits with Teddy on his lap. 

Andromeda eagerly invites them to visit again, and she and Narcissa exchange tearful hugs before Narcissa and Draco return to Malfoy Manor. 

Following this, anytime Narcissa and Lucius have an argument, she resorts to the typical, “Fine, then I’m staying at my sister’s tonight” threat. Draco starts disappearing from the Manor at regular intervals, and Narcissa only stops panicking over this once Andromeda sends an owl letting her know Draco is helping her with Teddy for the day. 

Once Teddy is a little older, he starts keeping his usually colorful hair to a strict, white-blond color and slicking it back so he looks alarmingly like his second-cousin. When Godfather Harry asks why he’s decided to look like that, Teddy just shrugs and says, “It looks good on Cousin Draco. I figured it’d look even better on me.” Harry has no response to this except to gape in horror. 

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

I Can’t Watch Boruto...

I tried. I was faithful to Naruto all these years, and I tried to get into Boruto with the hopes that it would keep some of that old nostalgia alive...but I can’t. Aside from watching Boruto: The Movie and (painstakingly) trying to force my way through the unfamiliar and rather weird illustrations of the Boruto manga, I have little to no immersion in the new series. Unless you count reading Naruto Gaiden, which details more of Sarada’s story than Boruto’s. And, I’ll be honest, if we’d had a series about Sarada over Boruto, I’d be a lot more excited and invested.

Reasons being, well, for starters, Sarada is actually interesting. She’s not dramatic like Sakura or angsty like Sasuke, at least not to the extremes her parents were, and even the short expanse of time we see her for on her journey to find Sasuke is actually engaging. And Chocho is just an added bonus. 

Boruto is like if you had a copulation of Naruto’s looks and Sasuke’s bad attitude but with none of their talent or any good reason for said bad attitude aside from the fact that he’s an entitled punk. And having him tag along with Shikadai is like if Shikamaru and Naruto had been best buds from day one instead of Naruto and Sasuke starting up their rivalry.

Really, aside from the Boruto movie, the rest of Boruto feels like a really poor excuse for a sequel. The manga makes me feel like I’m reading fanart more than a serialized and copyrighted follow up to Naruto, and the anime is like one really bad, drawn out filler. 

And maybe the other reason I just can’t commit to Boruto is that it’s not genuine like Kishimoto’s work was. Even he himself has said he worries about the story being too similar to Naruto and I think--even with the different plot points that they’re trying to show in Boruto--that’s becoming a real problem. You can’t have two characters who are basically the same with minor tweaks and expect to have a completely different story. At least not one that works well. 

Which is another reason I wish like hell that Sarada had gotten her own series. She’s a girl, for one, which would be a switch. She’s Sasuke Uchiha’s daughter, for pete’s sake! Has no one considered all the amazing backstory that could open up with Sasuke possibly having to explain to his daughter after they finally meet up all about the Uchiha family history? Like, does he tell her about Itachi? Does he tell her that her uncle was a hero or that he was a villain? Does he mention him at all? What about the war? Does he tell her about the war at all? 

I’d like to imagine Sasuke being the kind of dad to try and refrain from telling war stories because it would be “uncool” but when she asks him all bright eyed for the details he pretends to reluctantly give in and then spends the next four hours detailing every single moment on the battlefield, and then trying to look modest when she gushes over his abilities and demands that he train her sometime. 

And what about the fact that Sarada clearly knows more about Orochimaru than Boruto--and not just because she met him while searching for her dad that one time? 

And if they didn’t decide to do a series about Sarada, what about Mitsuki? You know, Orochimaru’s kid/clone? We got a short series for him just like we did for Sarada, but there was so much potential for it! Why did Orochimaru want him to befriend Boruto? Why is Orochimaru suddenly all sentimental over his own clones? What about the older Mitsuki? Where the hell did he go?

I just feel like Kishimoto left so many openings into bigger and better series with new and actually interesting characters, and his underlings decided to go with the one who probably is the least interesting and least captivating out of all of them. Naruto was an underdog. He struggled and struggled and worked his way to the top and we were rooting for him the whole way. We cried and laughed with him and were pissed over the same things he was. Boruto is...Boruto. He’s the son of the Seventh Hokage. He can’t complete a full Rasengan--and having it turn invisible halfway through a throw isn’t all that impressive, I’m sorry. He doesn’t like getting his clothes dirty, and he prefers playing video games to training. 

Really, the only visible difference between Boruto and Naruto--not counting their obviously different approaches to being a ninja and their clothing style--is that Boruto does not want to become Hokage. Well, good for him. What a distinguishing factor that he doesn’t want to grow up to be like his dad. Really. What a shocker. I would have been more impressed if he actually showed that he had the Byakugan. (In which case, why didn’t we get a series about his younger sister, Himawari? Who has already been shown to be a total badass just for getting her teddy’s head ripped off and practicing the Gentle Fist on her father.)

All in all, I’ve given up on Boruto for the time being. I’ll live with the memories of Naruto in it’s former glory, lament the fact that we missed the chance for a series about three potentially awesome characters (Mitsuki, Sarada, Himawari), and maybe consider trying to get into the series later if it shows any actual promise. But, for the time being, I’m going to sit here and wonder why--out of all the new characters that Kishimoto introduced to us--we got stuck with the carbon copy of the character he already told us the story of.

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

I Don’t Know About Anyone Else But... (Kuroshitsuji Spoilers)

I’m not entirely convinced by the Two-Ciel theory. I know it’s basically been confirmed by the latest chapter release, but there are just too many things that don’t add up to me to convince me that this new Ciel is a twin.

That’s not to say that Ciel didn’t have a twin in the past, when he was abducted and held captive by the cult that ended up with Sebastian being summoned, but here are my problems with it:

1: Even if Ciel did have a twin, that twin very clearly died during the ceremony performed to summon Sebastian, and shortly after that the entire mansion was set ablaze and everyone inside was burned to ashes.

2: If it is the twin, what purpose does he serve? What is he going to do for the story now? What is his purpose here other than to saunter in and go, “Yo, bitch, I’m back.” Just catching Ciel in a lie doesn’t seem like a major plot development to me. Even in regards to Elizabeth and Bravat, I just don’t see what the purpose of the twin serves. 

However, I can see the purpose of a clone, set up to pretend to be Ciel’s dead twin. It would shake Ciel up, it would leave him compromised and confused and without a damn clue what to do. It would leave him vulnerable. 

Also, a clone makes sense to me, because of what I perceive from the speaker from behind Polaris’s door. “My pride as a butler...” As well as the fact that when Agni was attacked by the hooded pair (who we can assume is the twin/clone Ciel and one other) he thinks of the speed of the person wielding knives. Who else do we know who is super fast and generally uses knives as his preferred weapon?

Like I said, I don’t know about anyone else, but reviving a dead twin makes no sense to me. Creating clones of Ciel, his butler, and other important members related to Ciel does. It would further the story, it would fill in some blanks that still have yet to be answered, and it’s a trial that Ciel can eventually overcome and brush off, like his other “adventures” so far, and maintain his title and “respectability” as an Aristocrat of Evil, the Watchdog of the Queen. 

Plus, and this is more to do with artist than the story itself, when has Yana-sensei ever made things easy? When has she ever made things predictable? Never. There’s always some twist at the end of everything that makes me go, “What just happened?” Simply making this about Ciel’s dead twin would be too predictable. I think there’s more to this than we’re seeing, and we’re all going to be thrown for a loop at the end of this arc.

That’s my personal belief, anyway.

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

Reasons why Sakura was Useless*

1. Because she was a main character without super awesome powers who happened to have perfectly normal, human, teenage feelings for a boy who she cared about and didn’t pretend that she didn’t have feelings to make herself into some super awesome, immovable, uncrying, kickass woman.

2. Because her powers weren’t godly, they were normal. They weren’t granted by a massive, supernatural fox that her parents shoved into her seconds before their death, or some weird birth defect that makes your eyes turn red and swirly when your adored elder sibling massacres your entire family. 

3. She was a normal human being. Literally. She had no birth-given gifts she inherited from her family, like pretty much EVERYONE ELSE IN THE SERIES. (i.e. Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, Kiba, Sasuke, Neji, etc.) She didn’t have a tragic backstory. She didn’t have some massive character flaw she had to overcome.

In other words, the ONLY reason Sakura seems to be considered “useless” is because she was NORMAL. Because she had feelings, and she had to work for her abilities, and she didn’t have a tragic backstory, and she acted like a typical 12-15 year old girl acts, and she got scared when things were scary and sad when things were sad, and didn’t brush everything off like she magically didn’t have feelings just because she was a ninja, and because she had feelings for a boy who wasn’t the best for her in any way, shape, or form, but, again, that is HOW 12 to 15 YEAR OLD GIRLS BEHAVE. 

Also, please consider the following:

How utterly useless would Naruto have been if he hadn’t had the insane, supernatural strength of a nine-tailed fox dwelling inside of him for him to tap into? 

AND

If Sakura hadn’t been woman enough to stick her hand inside Naruto’s ribcage to perform CPR on him after he had said nine-tailed fox dragged out of him, how would the war have ended?

*Useless: in this case, a word used by watchers/readers of the Naruto series who completely misunderstand what it truly is to be a useless character, just because a main (female) character has less than godly powers or abilities, and also admits that she cares about/wishes she could be with (insert male character’s name here).

[have-theory-will-headcanon]

The Power of Humans

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

Let me just start by saying that the new Black Butler chapter (Chp. 127) has officially messed me up. Out of every character in the entirety of the manga, Agni was one of the few genuinely good, morally pure characters we get to see, and also one of the even fewer that Sebastian genuinely seems to have any kind of respect for. In the Curry Contest arc, waaaaay back near the beginning of the series, we see Agni’s determination to do his best for Soma, and chapter 127 illustrates that even more amazingly. 

Not only does Agni willingly die for Soma, without hesitation, and without fear, but even after he’s taken his final breath, he protects Soma. 

The one thing that got me in this chapter, more than the shock of Agni’s death, and how incredibly brutal it was, was when Sebastian and Ciel have returned to the house to find Agni’s body still barricading the door. 

We’ve heard Sebastian speak before about the strength of a human with faith. We’ve seen how Agni managed to hold his own against a demon in a fight, and Sebastian’s immense respect for the faith that Agni has in his Prince, and for the aesthetic he has as a butler. 

But look AT THIS: 

When Sebastian and Ciel arrive back at the house, Agni is still firmly blocking the door to Soma. Ciel almost seems to think it means he’s alive, because what human could still stand if he were dead? I honestly thought at first maybe he was just comatose and leaning up against the door.

Okay, so we know Agni is dead now. So why didn’t the killer just force him aside to get to Soma? It would be easy enough, right? He’s just a dead body now. What strength does he have left?

Enough strength to make a demon struggle. Look at this. Sebastian is literally shaking with the effort of getting Agni to let go of the door. 

Let me repeat that: 

A DEMON is physically struggling to get a DEAD HUMAN away from a door. 

He had to break the door handle off to get the door open because Agni refused to let go of the door, even in death. 

Even in death, Agni protected Soma. His willpower and his faith in his prince were so strong, that even a demon nearly didn’t have the power to move him. That is the power of humans, and their faith, and it makes me so sad to think that this is the last time we’ll really get to see that in the manga, because the one character who personified it so well is gone. 

I’m hopeful that Yana will use Soma to carry on that strength and belief, but I get the feeling it’ll be the opposite and Soma is going to sink into grief and despair similar to what Ciel did during his imprisonment, and just give Ciel another reason to turn his nose up at the human condition and say, “I told you so.” I’m really hoping that’s not the case, but I guess we’ll just have to see. 

[midnight-in-town]

Guys, seriously...

(Spoilers for ch.101)

Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed…

How these two…

Look a lot

Like each other…

Seriously!

It could just be Yana’s drawing but…

Coincidence? I think not (and don’t get me started with Frances).

(They’re Claudia and Undertaker’s children okay).

[kuroshitsuji-effervescence]

“They’re Claudia and Undertaker’s children okay.” So true, yeah!!!